Written by Matthew Widdis
I remember 1985. After a few years of watching me smack grimacing plastic barbarians against one another, my younger sister finally got her turn. When my friends and I ran through the back yards, holding up sticks and yelling “I have the power!” she didn’t have to begrudgingly play Evil-Lyn (‘cause she’s a bad guy) or Teela (‘cause Teela’s totally He-Man’s secret girlfriend.) By 1985, she could be She-Ra, the Princess of Power! Fast forward 34 years and my wife and I are showing our daughter the original 1985 series on Netflix when she sees the trailer for the all new series produced by DreamWorks.
The first episode is a two-parter in which the structure and components are the same but the execution and flavor deviate as old and new audiences are introduced to the world of Etheria. Immediately, the anime influence is noticed as the art style is both updated from the original but also somewhat more cartoon-y. In attitude and artwork, the new She-Ra seems equal parts taken from the recent Voltron reboot and Steven Universe.
Adora is a young and ambitious cadet leader in service to The Horde and takes pride in her place as a part of this “peace-keeping force” as does her best friend and rival, Catra. It’s not until she has a run-in with rebel princess, Glimmer, and her friend, Bow, when both parties attempt to retrieve a mysterious abandoned sword that the narrative changes and her story begins. Over the course of the episode, Adora is introduced to the local peoples, the devastation of The Horde, and her connection to something called “Grayskull” that makes her transform into a seven-foot-tall super-valkyrie.
The show is fun, and not quite shallow. It has more action than the originals but seems less focused on violence. Instead of a three minute non-sequitur explaining the lesson of the day, the overall story arc looks to expand on multiple themes as the series is likely to progress. In the first episode alone, we get to see military lifestyle, colonization, coming-of-age, and questions of loyalty vs morality explored, as well as class and gender roles.
Various elements of Larry DiTillio and J. Michael Straczynski’s original characters and concepts have been remixed by showrunner and Lumberjanes creator, Noelle Stevenson, to create an updated product. Instead of a magic spell, it’s simple (and maybe more sinister) indoctrination that sees Adora serving The Horde. The connection to any future He-Man character is only hinted at for those who know the original.
Instead of interchangeable Barbie bodies with different costumes and color schemes, the characters have distinctly more individual and diverse looks: entitled Glimmer has a thicker build and a petulant attitude, Catra is now a sympathetic felinoid with heterochromia instead of a Catwoman rip-off, the once blonde and mustachioed Bow lends comic relief and is voiced by and more closely resembles Marcus Scribner of TV’s black-ish. What’s more, these changes are done seamlessly, thus normalizing them for a wider audience.
The re-booting of pop culture from the 80s has been a work in progress since, well, the 90s. Driven by nostalgia, studios and manufacturers have been cranking out hits and misses: Transformers has earned over $4 billion under Michael Bay but, despite a talented cast, The Smurfs movie franchise pulled the plug before the planned third installment. 2002’s Masters of the Universe and 2011’s Thundercats animated series failed to catch on, largely in part to being relegated to nostalgia act status on Cartoon Network’s late night programming. She-Ra (by the power of Netflix) may find itself a home not just in the hearts of the original fans but also their daughters.
Overall rating: 8.5 out of 10
She-Ra and the Princesses of Power is now streaming on Netflix.
